Landlady removes tenants’ roof to effect ejection
By Vincent Ukpong Kalu

Saturday, September 19, 2009
Tenants of 42 Ademola Street, Tipper Garage Bus Stop, Ketu, are now destitute following the removal of the roof of their house by the landlady, Mrs. Abiodun Yusuf Ayodele. This happened at the peak of the rains in July in the face of a magistrate court order barring the landlady from forcefully ejecting her tenants. The tenants are Tijani Taofeek, Sholola Jedda, Patrick Ojevieh and Emmanuel Ojo.





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The tenants were paying their rents yearly. At the expiration of their tenancy last December, they went to renew their stay but the property owner refused to collect the new rent to their amazement. She instead handed them a quit notice order to vacate the property immediately.

The tenants headed to the Magistrate’s Court on June 29, 2009. The magistrate warned the owner of the property against using unlawful means to eject the tenants until the determination of the suit. According to the tenants, by February, she disconnected their light and water. The tenants alleged that the intention of the woman was to bring in new tenants and increase the rent as well as collect the agency and agreement fees from the potential tenants.

In her desperation to eject the tenants the landlady devised a faster means.

She headed to the Ketu Customary Court to vacate the order of the Magistrate’s Court. When she found out that it was not possible she was advised to use health officials of Kosofe Local Government Council to bring up criminal summons on structural and other nuisances on the property and the premises.

On July 6 the court directed the health officials to conduct a check to determine the extent of structural nuisances in the premises. The panel said it detected tattered roof of the building, which is capable of destroying the properties, blocked public drainage that disallowed free flow of used water, it also detected termite ridden doors and windows, broken floors and peeling of decking. Other defects were falling railings of the staircase and grossly inadequate bathroom, toilets and kitchens. The panel recommended urgent repairs of the property.

Mr. Olajide Onabanjo counsel to the tenants raised objections to the panel’s findings and recommendations. He accused the panel of compromise and bias, as their findings were not the true state of the building. According to him the very day the panel visited the premises, he was around and when it rained there wasn’t any point that the roof was leaking. He also drew the attention of the court that the findings of the panel were spurious and predetermined.

The owner of the property through her counsel said she was ready to carry out the repairs but the prosecutor said that no thorough repairs could be effected except the occupiers are vacated to pave way for the repairs. The court through the president Chief A.O Gbose, ruled in favour of repairing of the house. The landlady called a carpenter to remove the roof of the building at the peak of the rain in July.